How do I perform a quick search?

You can use quick search, advanced search and browse.
Quick searches can be performed from the site’s homepage. Enter the text you wish to search for. Cinema Context will search for the exact text in its entirety. The function does not distinguish upper case from lower case letters. You can search within all collections at once, or within one of the five collections individually:
films,
cinemas,
programmes,
people and
companies
(each collection has its own colour). If you search through all collections simultaneously, the results will be organised by collection, which you may recognise by its colour. Only the first three search results for each collection will be displayed. To view the other search results for any single collection, click on ‘show all results’. If you wish to search within a single collection, you must select the desired collection from the pulldown menu beside the search field. The keyword you have used for your search will be marked in red.

How do I perform an advanced search?

If you wish to search in more detail, you can use the Advanced Search option. This allows you to compile specific searches for each collection. At the top of the page, you will find a horizontal bar listing the different collections available in Cinema Context:
films,
cinemas,
programmes,
people and
companies.
Click on the collection within which you would like to perform an advanced search, and you will access the search form directly.
The advanced search form has two elements. In the upper part, you can search for an exact text or phrase in all fields or in a specific field from the pulldown menu. You can also enter only a part of your keyword by using an asterisk.

Some searchable fields have been indexed. In that case, the Index button will be visible beside the search field. If you click on this button, a pop-up window will open, displaying an alphabetical overview of all possible values for that field. Clicking on any of these values will automatically return you to the search page with the selected value already entered into the search field.
Three search fields are included in the search page by default, which can be combined with each other by selecting ‘and’ (default), ‘or’ or ‘not’. It is, however, possible to combine more search fields (with a maximum of 10) by adding additional search fields. This is accomplished by clicking on the link ‘add new search field’ at the bottom right of the last search field.
The lower part of the search form can be used to narrow down your search term by selecting or deselecting one or more options. The possibilities are different for each collection. In most cases you can limit your search to a specific period.
On the right-hand side of the bar above the search fields of the advanced search page, you will find a Help button with specific information about what values can be entered in the search fields, and the search options per collection.

How do I browse through the data?

You can browse through the following categories: cinemas, films, companies, travelling cinemas, cities, film rating, people and film magazines.
The Browse menu offers a number of browse options per category. Clicking on any of the visible browse options will bring forth a page where you have to make another choice. After this choice, a list of search results will be presented to you. Clicking on any of these results will bring forth a detailed display of results. If you have chosen for instance to browse by film title and then by year, you will first encounter an overview of all years in the system. If you then select a year, you will be given an overview of all film titles from that year. If you then click on one of the film titles from this overview, you will access the detailed information of that film.
By browsing through the collection, you are actually compiling a kind of search query. After the final browse page, you will find an overview of search results that comply with your search query. You can click on any result for details. Alternatively, you may click on ‘refine search’ from the results page to access the advanced search form, where the values you have browsed through have already been entered. You can then add or alter search fields.

Where can I find information about the search fields?

How do I use asterisks in search queries?

You can search for any part of your search query by making use of an asterisk (*) at the end of any word. For instance, the search query ‘bet*’ may yield results such as ‘better’, ‘between’, ‘bets’, etc. The search query ‘bet’ however will only search for the word ‘bet’ in its entirety. There is no need for quotation marks, as the search engine only seeks out exact words and phrases. Pay careful attention to your spelling when submitting a search query.

How do I search within a specific period?

The lower part of the advanced search page offers the possibility of searching between two specific dates. By default, the date fields are set to values that indicate the entire date range of Cinema Context. You can adjust the dates to search within a shorter period. If you wish to search within a specific year, enter that year in both date fields.

How do I avoid losing my search query?

Using your browser's Back-button will return you to the search page with your search query already entered. The same thing will happen if you click on the option ‘refine search’ from the navigation bar in the results or details page. You will be returned to the advanced search page and can adjust your search query, or perform it again. You can also make use of the option ‘search history’ in the navigation bar. This will bring forth a page that lists all your previous search queries. If you click on one of these search queries, it will be performed again. That way, you won’t have to enter the same search query over and over again. You can clear your search page by clicking on a collection’s tab at the top of a screen.

How are the search results displayed?

After entering your search query, you will see a page with search results. Here you will find a short representation of the found documents. From the results page, you can click on the title of one of the results, which will show the detailed information of that document. For each collection you will find several tab sheets with specific information. If you wish to return from the detailed information to the overview of search results, you should click on the option ‘back to results’ in the upper right corner.

How do I sort my search results?

In the upper right of the results page you will find a pulldown menu with a number of sorting options. These vary for each collection. By default, the film results are sorted in ascending order by title. If you have more than 1000 search results, it is not possible to sort them. In that case, you may refine your search query so it will yield fewer than 1000 results, which you can then sort.

How do I use ‘My data’?

‘My data’ can be used for storing individual documents, for quick and easy access to documents without first entering a new search query. ‘My data’ can store up to 500 documents. You can add all search results to ‘My data’ at once by clicking on ‘add all to my data’ in the navigation menu. It is also possible to perform several search queries in different collections, and add a selection from your search results to ‘my data’ after each search. Individual documents can be added to ‘My data’ by clicking on the ‘add to my data’ icon behind any search result .
From the results page and the detailed information page, you can also add documents to ‘My data’. When you add a result to your saved data, a pop-up will be visible with the contents of your saved data. At the upper right corner of this pop-up you will see how many items your data set contains. The result you have just selected has already been added. The items in ‘my data’ are displayed in the order in which you have added them. The documents in ‘my data’ are numbered, and each item first lists the internal ID-number and then the title. The documents are displayed in the colour of the collection to which they belong.

If you choose to save the contents of your data set, you can either download the list of documents or e-mail it to yourself. These options can be found on the upper right of the data set page. If you click on the option ‘download contents’, you will encounter a page with the question whether you wish to open the document or save it on your computer. The downloaded document is .xml format, which you can process or access in other programmes. Click here for more information about what to do with downloaded documents.
If you wish to e-mail the contents of your data set to yourself, you must click on the option ‘e-mail contents’ from within ‘my data’. On the next page you will be asked for an e-mail address to which the data set will be sent. Enter your e-mail address here, and then click on the button ‘e-mail records’. You will then receive an e-mail with the requested data. The message will list ‘DCP Mailer’ as sender, and ‘my Cinema Context data’ as its subject. In the message you will find the information you had previously found in the saved data set (ID-number and title). Each document will include its link to the Cinema Context website, which will bring you to the details page for that document.
The saved data set can be accessed at any time by clicking on ‘my data’ in the navigation menu above the search pages and results pages. You can remove the data set at any time by opening it and then clicking on ‘empty’. A single document can be removed from your data set by clicking on the trashcan icon behind the document. Your data set is cleared automatically after leaving the website.

What can I do with downloaded documents?

How do I refine my search query?

In the navigation menu above the search pages and results pages you can find the option ‘refine search’. Clicking on this option will return you to the advanced search page, where you can adjust or refine your search query, for instance by searching within a shorter period.

How does ‘search history’ work?

The search history function provides an overview of all the search queries you entered at an earlier stage. The search queries are ordered chronologically, with the most recent query at the top of the list. In the overview you can find the search queries you have entered, the collections you have searched in, and the number of results your search has yielded. Clicking on any of these results will reactivate that search query and will bring you directly to the results page.
You can find the ‘search history’ option in the navigation menu above the search pages and results pages. If you wish to clear your search history, please click on the button ‘clear search history’. Your search history will also be cleared automatically after leaving the website.

How do I link to a Cinema Context page?

You can link to every single webpage of Cinema Context using a permalink. A permalink is a stable, durable link (URL). This feature is typical for dynamic websites like Cinema Context, where content is changing all the time. A permalink will always refer to the right page. It is also very convenient as a reference or citation in a publication. You will find the permalink on pages with details about a particular film, cinema, person or company. It is located on the right side just below the tabs. Copy the permalink and paste it in your webpage or publication.

What is the meaning of the Cinema Context symbols?

= add a document to ’my data. You can find this symbol among the search results and the details pages.
= the item in question is a film. You can find this symbol among the listed details of a programme as one of that programme’s elements.
= the item in question is a serial. You can find this symbol among the listed details of a programme as one of that programme’s elements.
= the item in question is a live performance. You can find this symbol among the listed details of a programme as one of that programme’s elements.
= remove item. You will only find this symbol on the ‘my data’ page.

Where can I find additional information?

Specific information about the search options for each collection can be found on the advanced search page. On the right side of the bar above the search fields you will find a Help button with information about the search fields.
For more information about the project, you can access the page About.
Details on how to contact Cinema Context can be found under Colophon.